EPFL launches a center of excellence in imaging

The new EPFL Center for Imaging (ECI) follows the Imaging@EPFL initiative that was launched in 2019 to promote interdisciplinary expertise in imaging on campus. “The work done with Imaging@EPFL really laid the bases for a proper center with increased reach and resources,” says Dr. Laurène Donati, ECI’s new Executive Director. The academic governance of the initiative also remains in place: Prof. Michael Unser, the new Academic Director of the ECI, keeps chairing a steering committee composed of five faculty members representing the different Schools.

Imaging: the interdisciplinary discipline par excellence

Imaging plays a central and ever-increasing role in science and engineering. From the atomic to the cosmological scale, it allows scientists to capture, quantify, and visualize physical phenomena with unprecedented resolution in both space and time. A challenging endeavor that requires the convergence of numerous skills and expertise. “Most of the future progress in the field will likely be the result of cross-fertilization between various disciplines,” says Prof. Unser. A vision shared by EPFL’s higher instances. “There is a huge potential for new developments in imaging that draw on all aspects of science and engineering,” adds EPFL’s President Martin Vetterli.

At EPFL, a large and diverse population of scientists and engineers are involved in imaging at all scales. Over eighty groups perform world-class research in the field, spanning a broad range of applications. The core mission of the EPFL Center for Imaging will be to capitalize on this exceptional concentration of academic strength. “We shall set up a number of mechanisms to foster interdisciplinary collaborations in imaging at EPFL, such as novel seed-funding opportunities for joint research, for example,” says Dr. Donati. The objective is clear: to accelerate the dissemination of new developments in imaging technology across EPFL groups.

A hub for advanced image handling and analysis

A major trend in recent years is the increased production of imaging data in space and time, which requires large-scale storage and analysis capabilities. Unsurprisingly, the need to process large data has led to an urgency for more powerful imaging software. “Image analysts worldwide struggle to meet the demand and only a small subset of the collected data is currently fully exploited” says Dr. Donati. This unprocessed information is a goldmine-in-waiting; machine-learning techniques hold great promise in this regard, provided that these new tools are made accessible to the rest of the imaging community. “The Center will have the important mission to train and support EPFL’s imaging scientists in the use of these sophisticated tools,“ adds Prof. Unser. Beyond training, the Center will directly act as a hub for research on the methodology itself and drive the development of advanced digital tools that benefit EPFL’s imaging community at large. It will also promote the investigation of software infrastructure that tackle shared problems in data handling and storage, and provide help with the long term maintenance of open-source software and data.

Capitalizing on cutting-edge imaging infrastructure

EPFL is equipped with advanced imaging facilities that cover the needs of many users, providing them with assistance and access to cutting-edge technologies. In liaison with these entities, the EPFL Center for Imaging will develop sophisticated algorithms and numerical tools that complement and enhance the existing imaging infrastructure. “The incorporation of novel digital tools into the imaging paradigm has great potential to improve both the acquisition and the processing of images,” says Prof. Unser.

The Center will also benefit from the existing expertise in imaging that spans beyond EPFL and across the Lemanic Region. Over the past 15 years, the cross-institutional CIBM has opened new horizons in biomedical imaging by providing scientists in the region with state-of-the-art equipment and new means for advancing translational and clinical research. Another major asset in the imaging landscape of Western Switzerland is the Dubochet Center for Imaging, which is being setup on the Lausanne campus as a common initiative by the EPFL, UNIL, and UNIGE. The Dubochet Center will bring state-of-the-art cryo-electron microscopy tools to the region and, as such, will be a cornerstone of EPFL’s imaging strategy.

Top-level training in imaging at EPFL

EPFL is ideally positioned to train students with world-class expertise in imaging. The EPFL Center for Imaging will work towards providing an even more comprehensive offer of courses in the domain, and will further encourage EPFL’s faculty to formulate interdisciplinary student projects that are co-supervised by two partner imaging labs.

The Center will also increase the offer in continuous training to equip EPFL’s imaging scientists with the latest imaging-related digital skills.

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